The tavern looked like it was the nicest looking building in the whole village. I dreamed of a bed that wasn't made of straw and had a blanket that was made of finer wool than the one I had used the night before. I noticed the sign above the door just as I walked in, "The Broken Clock." It was a fairly open area with a stage on one side, tables scattered along the floor with no rhyme or reason, and benches and chairs surrounding them with several local drunks occupying a few seats. Along the back wall were several casts of what I could only assume was alcohol, mead or beer most likely, with a short stout man working the bar proper. A young woman was walking to and from delivering drinks and chatting with the patrons.
My entry didn't go unnoticed by the people in the alehouse. I inwardly sighed and walked up to the counter.
"Greetings friend, welcome to my humble establishment, where no matter the time, it's always a good time to drink. My name is Alphonse, you must be that man that Lise saved." He greeted me with a warm smile that made me sick to my stomach.
"So, you've heard about me then?" I replied back.
"Whole towns heard about the broken man who's under the care of our beautiful healer. I will admit, you getting up and walking around is a bit of a shock to me. By how the boys described how you looked."
"Well, Lise is a miracle worker that's for sure. Helped me get back on my feet in no time flat." I faced a smile.
"Well, friend, they told me your name last night but I can't recall it."
"Justin Thomas is my name sir."
"Well Justin, I'm sure that how you got in such a battered state is quite the tale." The short man probed.
"Not entirely sir. I was attacked by bandits a ways up the river and they nearly took everything from me, including my life." I repeated the lie I had told to Analise.
"Bandits? By Thyme, what is this world coming to. I'm assuming you've heard about the terrible sorcerer that walked these lands? Word is that he was slain by the great hero Mathios. Right, good, I say. Only good magic user we've seen was that Thyme fellow. Good lad he was. Even stayed in this very tavern while he was helping the good folk." He said, picking up a glass and started to clean it.
It took all my self restraint not to attack the man. So, news of my death really had spread to this backwater town. I wondered how they found out about it though, it couldn't have been that long since my alleged death. "I've been away from civilization for a while, how long ago did Mathios slay this tyrant?" I nearly choked on the words. Partly because of how funny it was thinking that he believed he killed me and partly because of how it made me want to gag.
"Don't rightly know, but we learned about his death a week ago. It does take a bit for news to reach us and that's because traders stop in every once in a while." Alphonse said, placing the glass down on the bar. I almost reeled back in shock. It's been at least a week since I had encountered Mathios. I couldn't believe it. I had assumed that it had been a couple of days. Maybe four at the most.
"Damn, that's a long time then. I didn't think I was away from the news for that long." I muttered out trying to keep the conversation going.
"Aye, now was there anything else ya needed, lad?" Alphonse said, giving me a warm smile.
"Room for the night, mainly" I said, grabbing my new purse from my cloak.
"Very good, we have the very room Thyme stayed in when he was with us. By far the nicest room we got. Only 1 gold piece."
I blinked at the man. A single gold piece for a room for the night. That was highway robbery, "What exactly does my gold piece get me, Al?"
"The room has a double sized bed, made up of real cotton stuffing, finely loomed wool blankets and pillows. With a standing closet and a writing desk. Dinner and breakfast are included and are made to order." He said, selling me on the room. I sighed, as the same room in the city cost 3 silver with meals included.
"Toss in drinks for the evening and you have a deal." I counter offered.
"Ridiculous, what type of business would I be running if I just included all the drinks for an evening for 1 gold."
"Alright, alright, no hard stuff, only beer but half now and half when I check out." I sighed coming down from my offer.
Alphonse smiled and held out his hand, "You drive a hard bargain friend, but I can agree to those terms." I shook his hand and counted out 5 silver pieces and handed them to him. He placed the key on the counter after taking the coins and pointed towards the stairs. "Door is all the way down the hall. Dinner will start to be served at 5 and ends at 9. Bar closes at 2am. Enjoy your stay here Mr. Thomas."
I grabbed the key and thanked him. The stairs looked like they had been replaced in the past decade or so and didn't creak when I walked up them. The door to my room had giant letters on it exclaiming that this was in fact the Thyme Suite. I flipped off the writing and walked into the room. To my surprise the room looked very much like my grandfather's room in his villa.
I scowled and put The Library on the bed and sat down. I would have to make my way back to my castle so I could get my things. It was in my grandfather's bag of infinite space. It was probably overlooked because of its shabby design. I had also put it in the entrance hall and you could only grab something out of it if you knew what you were grabbing. Though I had this feeling that putting the Library in my bag was a bad idea.
I sighed and grabbed the letter from my cloak. On the front of it said, "To my dearest grandson Koga Coltman." I scoffed at reading it. Dearest, huh? Fat chance, I knew that I was only dearest because I came from the son of his wife. He had other grandchildren, like that Analise who worshiped the ground he walked on.
I threw the letter on the bedside table and sighed. I would read it in a bit. I didn't want to know what the old man said to me at the moment. I still was pissed at the fact I had lost at least a week. "Ahhhh! My castle must have been turned over 15 times by now. That stupid peasant Mathios might have even burned it down or worse moved in."
"Yes, that would be a shame, my love. Where would we have our romantic encounters then?" I heard a female voice coming from the doorway. I bolted up sending magic to my fingertips and sending a bolt of fire at the raven haired beauty. I knew who it was from the seductive voice but I always greeted her like this.
"Hello, my dear Amelia. How nice of you to drop by. I've missed you terribly." I said, swinging my feet over the bed.
"Don't stand, you've been through a lot." She said walking over to me wrapping her arms around my neck. "I almost believed it when I heard the news of your death."
"You were worried about me? Aw, you shouldn't have been." I smiled at her
"Of course, I wasn't worried about you. You're a capable sorcerer and a peasant like Mathios could only dream about killing you." She said touching her forehead to mine.
"That just might be the nicest thing you've said to me since ever." I chuckled.
"I won't make a habit of it then, you vile, villainous, scoundrel that I love." She sent a small surge of energy into my body causing parts of me to go numb.
"That's fine with me you lying manipulative succubus that I love." I said grabbing her waist pulling in close. "I'm glad you found me, Amelia. I've thought about burning down this town several times since I've been here."
"Yet it's still standing. I'm impressed and disgusted. Such restraint for laying low, but I found you easily because your energy has such a unique signature. It's only a matter of time before Mathios finds out you're alive. Using a healing spell twice and Electric Palm in such a short time along with the Fire Bullet will surely draw attention here." She said, climbing onto my lap.
"I know my love. There was a peasant I had to remind who was his better." I said looking into her gray eyes. I loved staring into those pools of murky water.
"So when are you leaving this backwater and joining me in the capital again?" She said, staring back into mine.
"Going back to Hills Crest? I don't know, but I'm leaving this place after breakfast. I paid for it, and I'm going to enjoy it dammit." I chuckled.
"Well, we need to celebrate you being alive. I might have an idea on how to do that." She smiled devilishly at me.
"Oh, you do? Well, I'm all ears then you little succubus." I said brushing the hair out of her face.
"Don't play coy with me, it doesn't suit you" She smiled.
I kissed her and pulled her down into the bed with me.
When I woke up a few hours had passed after we. I looked down and saw she was still in my arms. I remember the day we met clearly. She didn't know who my lineage was or that I could use magic. I didn't know she could either. We fell for each other over the course of a month. I smiled at her and felt myself drifting off again.
I stirred and didn't feel her presence in my bed anymore. I opened my eyes and saw she was gone. No trace of her anywhere. I sighed and sat up. Amelia leaving without saying goodbye was a regular thing. She was an important advisor to the queen and needed to be back at the castle. So I would often wake up alone. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the letter on the nightstand. The seal was broken already.
"Couldn't help yourself, my love. That's fine, there's no secrets between us anyway." I smiled as I grabbed the letter. She knew this was my endeavor and would help when she could but she wouldn't take the books before me. I pulled the sheet of paper out and unfolded it.
"To Koga,
I know you're just a small child as I'm writing this and you remind me so much of myself when I was your age. Though, that is the worrying part. That you will be too much like me. I don't expect you to find this letter until after I've pasted and have read my Journals. My grandson, as you know I haven't been the best person throughout my life. I've killed innocent people for a multitude of reasons. None of them were ever good enough to kill someone who's just trying to live their life. I'm afraid that you too will walk a similar path as me and hurt innocents even though you have been surrounded by a family that loves you dearly. But if your path is similar, then you will come to regret your actions and try for the rest of your life to make up for it. This first book in your inheritance is a test of character of sorts. It's a highly destructive spell, the one I used to kill those innocent people that fateful day. I hope you only use it to defend the ones you love and not to kill those you hate. As you follow in my footsteps literally across this land that I fell in love with and found your grandmother. I hope you haven't started following my footsteps figuratively as well. Be better than me, and be the Hero I always pretended to be.
With all the love I can give,
Grandfather Thyme"
"Following your footsteps literally? Ugh, that means my next stop is the town of Greenwater," I sneered at the letter. I had a love hate relationship with the town Greenwater. It was a den of thieves and cutthroats. I snapped my fingers and a small flame appeared on the corner of the letter.
"How dare you old man assume I'm anything like you. You were weak and lacked conviction. I, on the other hand, am willing to do what must be done." I said throwing the burning letter on the ground. As the paper burned, I watched the flames dance and consumed it. I smiled and grabbed the Library and pulled out the book. I opened it and started reading.
The first couple of pages detailed on casting the spell, the rest was about different techniques and how to get the most out of the spell. As I read, I gathered magical energy in my palm feeling a warmth growing while not burning me. I looked over and saw a small ball of fire floating over my palm. I smiled at how easy it was to learn such a spell. I began to wonder if anyone else could learn this; Amelia maybe. Then a flash of my castle appeared with dozens and dozens of students in the courtyard mulling about. I dismissed the thought, me running a school for magic users. Silliest idea I had in a while. I heard a loud knock on my door and almost dropped the spell. I wanted to burn down the town but not with me alongside it. I extinguished the spell and got up. The pounding continued and I yelled, "I'm coming, I'm coming."
I pulled on my trousers and walked towards the door. The person on the other side pounded one last time. "What do you want?" I said opening the door to Analise.
"What I want is an explanation as to why my fiancé was found near the edge of town, unconscious." She said pushing her way past me and into the room.
"Yes, feel free to come into my room. What are you talking about?" I said, closing the door behind her.
"Louis, my fiancé. Was found unconscious near the edge of town, he was last seen looking for you after I told him what happened this morning." She said looking at me in my eyes.
"Well, he never found me." I said not looking away.
"He told me what happened between you. You used magic to shock him." She said, poking my bare chest.
"What else did he tell you?" I said, feeling my eyes darken and magic rush to my fingertips.
"He said, you're not who you say you are."
"Did he now? Did he tell you who he thinks I am?" I grinned
"No, he didn't but I honestly don't care who you actually are. But you shouldn't do what you did. You were given a gift and you should use it to help people not hurt them."
"Spare me the lecture, the old man used to do the same thing,"
"Well, he was ri-" I cut her off and grabbed her neck.
"Never utter those words in my presence." She grasped at my hands. I let her go and she took a step back coughing.
"You're a monster." She gasped, rubbing the red mark I had left.
"Don't act surprised, I could have easily killed that peasant fiancé of yours and you. So you should act grateful." I said sparking magic between my fingertips.
"You're him aren't you? The man who Mathios killed." Her voice lowered to barely a whispered, "I healed you, showed you compassion and kindness. This is how you treat those people? By almost killing them."
"How many times do I need to remind you, staying my hand and not wiping this stain off the map is my kindness." I glared at the woman.
"How can a man who was trained by such a kind man be so cruel?" She whimpered.
"Because I am too much like the old man in his youth." I sneered, this conversation was straining the little bit of patience I had left for this village. What a bother this place had been. Judging by her words it was still the same day. "Now, wench if there is nothing else. Leave me be and don't come back or my gratitude will run out."
I saw tears in her eyes as she headed towards the door, "I hope Mathios finds you and finally puts you in the ground because that's where you belong." She slammed the door behind her and I sighed as I was alone. This town was trying my patience and it was quickly running out. I looked around and rubbed my face. I needed an actual good night's sleep and not being interrupted. I love Amelia and desperately wanted to be by her side but right now I wanted to be left alone.
I walked back to the bed and fell into it. I was exhausted from everything. I closed my eyes and soon drifted off. After what had seemed to be only 5 minutes, I awoke to yelling and screaming.
"-re is h-" I could barely make it out, but that voice was one I could place anywhere. It was Mathios lacky, Fernando. That was quick, surprisingly quick. I figured I would have left town before they caught up to me here. I hate when I'm wrong. I sprang up and threw on my clothes. I grabbed the book and put it in the Library. As I put the strap on my shoulder the door burst open and two armed men walked in.
"Koga Yurill, you're under arrest for crimes against the good people of Gharnet" Fernando said walking in to the room.
"Ferny, how ya been pal? It's been too long. I thought that peasant Mathios ditched you, because I don't remember you being there when that idiot thought he actually murdered me." I smiled widely at the man, mocking him.
"Mathios isn't capable of murder, you lie."
"What do you mean? Ask him yourself, I had been defeated. Helpless, able to be restrained and taken in for trial for my crimes. No, Ferny. He's very capable of murder. He threw me out a window and fate intervened to save my life."
"No, that's not what happened. Mathios wouldn't lie to me. You couldn't be reasoned with, he said. You couldn't have been restrained, he said."
"I had been disarmed Ferny. I barely had enough energy to heal the most grievous of my wounds or else I would have died. There was a deep cut on my palms from my own sword."
"Shut up. I refuse to listen to your lies anymore. Now hands behind your head and knees on the ground."
"I don't think so, Ferny. You see I have places to be and kingdoms to conquer. So I can't turn myself in quite yet." I summoned the fire ball in my hand and ran towards the window. I dove through the glass and as I fell I threw the spell into my room. It exploded with a thundering roar and left a cloud of smoke trailing from the open window. I hit the ground with a thud and looked up as there was soldiers everywhere.
"Dammit," I groaned, getting up, wiping off the pieces of glass from my clothes.
"Get him, he's right there," Fernando leaned out the window and yelled at the men. I saw a group of soldiers running towards me. I summoned another fireball and threw it in the middle of the men. The resulting explosion sent the men flying and as the flames licked the walls a few of them caught fire. I silently swore, I wanted to burn this town down but not like this. A couple of the men had caught fire and were screaming in pain and running. One of them fell into an open window and soon smoke was billowing out. This wasn't good, I had to leave now. I started running and as I rounded a corner another group of guards were standing there. How many guards did they send after me? I was honored by the amount but it was a real pain in my ass. I turned around and kept running.
"Hey, stop in the name of the Queen." One of them yelled as I ran. I had no intention of being captured today or any day for that matter. I could hear the sounds of their feet hitting the ground in pursuit of me. The town was starting to really burn now, people were screaming for buckets of water and about how this couldn't be happening. Some of the flames must have jumped from house to house and as I turned to cast another fireball I ran into something. I fell backwards and when I looked up I saw Louis standing there.
"Where do you think you're going, scum?" He grabbed my robe and lifted me up. "You're a wanted man, you're burning down my town, and you made my fiancé cry. I should kill you myself"
His fist connected with my face and I reeled in pain. He didn't hit as hard as Mathios but it still hurt. Then he pulled back for another swing and connected with my stomach this time knocking the air out of my lungs. I groaned in pain. He threw me to the ground and pulled out what looked like a skinning knife. Mathios had sunk low enough to kill me, and this peasant was certainly not Mathios. I started waving my hands and Louis brought down his boot on one of them forcing me to stop casting the spell.
"Your fancy tricks won't help you get out of this mess." He said, crushing my hand under his boot. I yelled in pain. I looked around and didn't see anyone or anything except the burning town. I felt the cold metal against my throat now. My quest was at its end by a lowly peasant. I couldn't believe it, was there nothing I could do to get myself out of this. Killed by a peasant, what would grandfather think? I started laughing at that thought.
"I guess it is true that when a man is confronted with his own death, they go mad." Louis said, smiling at my plight.
"I'm not laughing at my death, peasant. Like I would laugh at you killing me." I said, slowly gathering energy into my free hand.
"What are you laughing at then?" He said forcing the knife harder into my throat.
"You wouldn't get it, I'm the only one who would anyway." I smiled at him. I lifted my head and gave him open access to my throat, "Do it if you're going to do it then."
I felt the blade start moving across my neck and then a bright light filled my vision. The feeling of the knife vanished and I heard Louis scream. I blinked a few times and when my vision cleared Amelia was standing there.
"What are you doing here love? I had this completely under control." I said, as I stood up.
"No, you didn't. I've been watching you this entire time from when you jumped out that window to right now." She said putting her hands on her hips. "You were handling yourself well until that peasant showed up. Quite the show if you ask me."
"Amelia, I didn't need your help. He wasn't going to kill me. I had one last trick up my sleeve."
"Sure you did, my dear. With your hands being crushed and you not being able to say any spells." She gave me a look.
"Seriously, I did though."I said, summoning a blade of shadows from my hand without using any words or hand motions. I looked at him, "Did you kill him?"
"He'll live, but he'll wish he was dead when he wakes up." She smiled at me with a sadistic smile.
"Death is still the final mercy, eh?"
"Of course, he should suffer for almost killing you." She said, putting her arms around my neck and kissing me. I got lost in her lips for a moment and snapped out of it when I heard yelling in the distance.
"I have to go, my love. I'll meet up with you later." I kissed her one final time and started running again. I turned back and saw her give me a smile, snapped her fingers and disappeared in a bright light. I shook my head and smiled, ever the drama queen.
I turned the corner and saw Analise in the distance, she was helping people get to safety. I kept running towards her and narrowly avoided hitting her and the old woman she was helping. I felt something grab my collar and stop me in my tracks.
"This is your doing, Koga." She said, turning me around and looking into my eyes. There was such hatred in them.
"You're half right, if the guards didn't show then this wouldn't have happened." I tried to explain.
"They only appeared because you're here. No you, no guards." She screamed. I have never seen a woman this angry before "This is my home, you bastard. This is the place I've loved the most ever since I could remember and you've taken it away from me."
"This wasn't supposed to happen like this. I'm sorry, Lise"
"You're sorry? Sorry doesn't bring back the buildings that are burning, sorry doesn't bring back my friends that have died tonight, and sorry sure as hell isn't doing to make any of this better." She slapped me hard. My first instinct was to grab her but I fought it. I heard the guards yelling getting closer.
I looked in their direction and Analise looked as well. "I've got him right here. Come get this scum out of my town," she screamed at the top of her lungs. Not even a second had passed and a group of soldiers appeared. I knew what I had to do in order to flee. I grabbed Analise by her hand and twisted it behind her back
"I'll kill you if you try to break free." I whispered in her ear. I put the shadow blade against her throat and knew she could hear the blade begging to taste her blood. She looked at me with a mixture of fear and hatred.
"Come any closer and I kill the girl." I yelled at the guards approaching. They stopped dead in their tracks and I started to back away. I didn't plan on killing her but they didn't know that and neither did she. I looked behind me and saw the tree line was about 50 feet away. I swore silently as I kept heading there.
"Please let me go. I swear they won't come after you if you do," Analise whimpered.
"I'm sorry Lise. I can't do that, you're my guarantee out of here right now." I said in a low tone. The guards inched towards us, "I said not another step."
They stopped and swore at me calling me a coward. I sneered at them. I don't mind being called a villain but a coward. I'm certainly not one of those. I have stared down death several times and walked away. This time will be no different. I glanced behind me and saw 25 feet to the tree line.
"We're almost out of here, Lise."
"What does that matter? My home is burning to the ground. I don't know where my fiancé is."
"Louis is alive against my better judgement."
"Explain right now"
"I will after we get out of here" I said as the first tree passed us. I turned around and shoved her forward, "Follow me and I will kill her." I yelled towards the town. I looked at her and motioned for her to run. She nodded and started running, I followed close behind her.